


Dinner Conversation

by elenniel



Series: Steve and Peggy [3]
Category: Agent Carter (TV), Captain America (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: F/M, SteggyWeek20, mostly just a very normal conversation with some fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-19
Updated: 2020-07-19
Packaged: 2021-03-05 02:08:49
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,145
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25386580
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/elenniel/pseuds/elenniel
Summary: Steve has had a long day, but it ends with a dinner with Peggy. (In which I explore what some comparatively normal conversation between them might be like.)
Relationships: Peggy Carter/Steve Rogers
Series: Steve and Peggy [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1845091
Comments: 6
Kudos: 35





	Dinner Conversation

**Author's Note:**

> I envision Steve as having taken on a new identity once he went back in time to be with Peggy.  
> Am playing in the same sandbox as my previous two StevexPeggy fics, but the connections aren't very direct so this can be read on its own without having read those other two. :)
> 
> \----------  
> For Steggy Week 2020 on Tumblr

It was one of those days when nothing seemed to be going right for Steve. He had dropped a jar of water for his brushes and not only had the jar smashed to pieces, but it also spilled water over a half-finished painting, which forced him to start over. He’d mowed the lawn in the morning and then the dog had decided to add a new touch to it in the form of a hole. There was no time to fix it because a client had rejected his ideas for a new ad illustration and that resulted in his having to drive down to the ad agency’s offices to discuss more ideas with the team.

Five minutes into his drive from home, he realised that he hadn’t told Peggy and she would be wondering what happened to him if she came home early. Deciding it would be quicker to go back and leave the note instead of trying to call her from a pay phone in the city or borrow the office phone, he turned the car around and sped home to scribble an explanatory note, telling her to go ahead and have dinner without him if he wasn’t back in time. He left it on the dining table and reflected on how useful a smartphone would be at that moment.

It was nearly half past eight when Steve got home and he was feeling more than a little tired out. When he opened the door, Rex came bounding up to him, tongue out and tail wagging.

“I’m still mad at you, buddy,” said Steve, frowning at Rex. He then completely undermined his stern tone by patting the dog’s head.

“I saw the hole in the garden.”

Steve looked up. Peggy had come out of the dining room.

“Hello, darling,” she said as she kissed him. “I saw your note too. You must be tired.”

“I feel a lot better seeing you now.” Steve removed his coat and draped it on the coat rack. He took in Peggy’s outfit at a glance. She was still in her work clothes. “I see you got home late too.”

“Long meeting made longer by bores who like to feel important,” said Peggy. “How was your meeting?”

Steve answered her as they made their way to the dining room. “Sometimes I think fighting Nazis was a whole lot easier than dealing with clients. Jackson called and demanded I go down there and figure out new ideas with them. At _4:45 p.m_.”

“Aren’t you just doing the art for them?”

“Yeah, but Jackson likes to have the team brainstorm together. ‘Many minds make light work,’ he says. And I happen to be part of the team for this project.”

“I’m quite certain that’s not how the saying goes.”

“It isn’t,” agreed Steve, helping himself to some food. “But I don’t think he cares. What was your meeting about?”

“Pitching to some bigwigs for potential extra funding. They like to feel important so Howard gave them the full Stark treatment. Too bad I had to be part of it too.” Peggy heaved a sigh.

They settled into a quiet moment, where the only sounds were just the munching of food, the clinking of cutlery against plates, and Rex’s breathing in the background.

Then Peggy gave a little chuckle. Steve gave her an enquiring look. She smiled wryly and said, “If anyone was eavesdropping, who would think that they’re listening to Agent Peggy Carter and Captain Steve Rogers? We’re just complaining about meetings. Like any other normal person.”

Steve grinned. “Agent Peggy Carter complaining about meetings sure is unusual. But plain old Grant Carter the illustrator? That’s not so unusual for me. Drawing, painting, attending meetings, mowing the lawn – that’s my day.”

“Speaking of the lawn, that’s a pretty big hole Rex dug…”

His head dropped. “Ugh, don’t remind me. I was on the phone with Jackson when I looked out the window and saw what Rex was doing. I nearly yelled into the phone. Caught myself just in time.”

Peggy laughed at the mental image of Steve attempting to pay attention to the phone call while glaring at the dog out the window.

And then the phone rang, making them both jump a little.

“Who on earth is calling at this hour?” said Peggy.

“Guess I’ll find out.” Steve rose and went to answer the phone in the next room.

Peggy looked at Rex, who stared back at her. “Who do you think it is? Howard? Angie?”

Steve’s voice came through the open door. “Hello? Oh. Jackson. Yeah, Carter here. What is it?”

“Oh dear,” said Peggy to Rex. “How tiresome.”

Steve’s conversation continued for a few minutes. Peggy detected the undertone of annoyance in his voice.

“Should I go rescue him, Rex?”

Rex laid his head on the floor and appeared to go to sleep.

“I guess that’s a no.” But Peggy got up anyway and poked her head into the living room, where Steve was.

He saw her in the doorway and gave her a resigned look even as he muttered his assent to whatever Jackson was saying on the phone. Peggy leaned on the door jamb and watched him sympathetically (while also admiring the planes of his delightfully handsome face and the way his shirt sleeves were rolled up over his arms).

When the call ended, Peggy said, “I was tempted to interrupt your call and demand that he leave you alone for the rest of the night.”

“I wish you could have. He just rattled on and on…”

“Should I have then?”

Steve came up to her and put his arms around her. “It would’ve been entertaining in a way. But it probably wouldn’t have been advisable, right?”

She sighed. “Too true.” Peggy could see how that would _not_ have gone down well for her husband’s work reputation. She knew she wouldn’t have liked it much either if Steve – in his capacity as Captain Rogers, not his current identity as Grant Carter – had interrupted one of her work calls and demanded an annoying superior give his wife a break. It wouldn’t have been a very positive reflection on her unless it really had been very poor treatment. And right now, Steve’s situation was more of “annoyance” than “abuse” so her intervention probably wasn’t called for.

Peggy added, “You’ve survived _much_ worse than Jackson and these other jerks, after all.”

He laughed. “So I have. Shall we get back to dinner?”

“We shall and we should. I imagine that you’re still hungry.” She regarded his shirt collar thoughtfully while her fingers toyed with one of his shirt buttons. “And after you’re stuffed, we can put the leftovers into the refrigerator and go… Do _something else_.”

The corner of his mouth turned up in a lopsided smile before he bent and kissed her. “No objections from me.”


End file.
